After finding a suspicious vehicle parked southwest of the Kansas Judicial Center, 312 S.W. 10th, directly across the street from the Statehouse, law enforcement closed down the parking lot to investigate further.

Tension was high Wednesday around the Kansas Capitol Complex in downtown Topeka as officers worked two cases that officials said were unrelated — one involving a pickup truck with explosives in the Kansas Judicial Center parking lot, the other involving phoned-in threats to the governor’s office.

One person was in custody in connection with each of the cases by midmorning Wednesday, authorities said.

In the first case, law enforcement officers were alerted a few minutes before 8 a.m. to a “suspicious” pickup that had been left unattended in the Kansas Judicial Center’s west parking lot, near S.W. 11th and Harrison.

Throughout Wednesday, officer Patrick Saleh, a Capitol Police spokesman, said the man linked to the pickup hadn't been booked into jail but was being questioned by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

By 8 p.m., Saleh said he couldn't answer any more questions about the man because the ATF had taken over the investigation.

Officials said the original tipoff to the pickup came from state employees who noticed it didn’t have a “hanging tag” required for vehicles to be parked in the lot.

Capitol Police officers checked the pickup and noticed items of concern, including a gun holster without a firearm in it.

The Topeka Police Department bomb squad was summoned, and its robot was deployed.

The bomb squad located several improvised explosive devices in the vehicle, Saleh said.

Saleh told the Associated Press the homemade explosives were made with household materials and were designed to spray shrapnel when detonated. Saleh said more than one explosive device was found in the pickup.

The IEDs were removed safely by Topeka police, who were holding the items as evidence.

The pickup’s owner was located in the Docking State Office Building at 915 S.W. Harrison, where he was attending a scheduled meeting.

The Kansas Judicial Center’s parking lot was closed for several hours while officers responded to the incident. It was reopened around 1 p.m. Also closed was a portion of S.W. Harrison, south of S.W. 10th, as the incident was investigated.

In the other case, which occurred about 10 a.m., a man was taken into custody at a west Topeka motel by Kansas Highway Patrol troopers in connection with threats that had been phoned in minutes earlier to Gov. Sam Brownback’s office.

That person, identified as Stephen Joseph Thibodeau III, 37, no permanent address, was questioned, then arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Jail in connection with harassment by telecommunications device and transmitting obscene comments.

In that case, Saleh said, troopers apprehended a man who had phoned in threats to the governor’s office from the Motel 6, 1224 S.W. Wanamaker.

The man went on a “rant” that was considered threatening to the governor’s office. It was unknown whether specific threats had been made against the governor.

The location of the call was pinpointed through caller ID, and troopers had the man in custody within minutes, Saleh said.

Thibodeau remained in jail Wednesday afternoon without bond. His last known address was Columbia, Mo., Saleh said.

Capitol Police would have gone to the “same extent” to investigate the suspicious vehicle even if the threat to the governor’s office hadn’t been made, Saleh said.

In addition to the Topeka Police Department and Capitol Police — a division of the Kansas Highway Patrol — the Federal Bureau of Investigation was on the scene.

The Topeka Fire Department and American Medical Response ambulance also responded to the Kansas Judicial Center.

The cooperation among the agencies that responded to the incidents was a testament to the extensive training undertaken by the officers, Saleh said.

“Everything worked exactly as it should have,” he said.

Phil Anderson can be reached at (785) 295-1195 or phil.anderson@cjonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @Philreports. Read his blog at CJOnline.com/blog/perspectives.

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I was arrested for "suspicion". LOL - The cops didn't tell me "suspicion of what" - just suspicion! Now we hear of a "suspicious" car. Can you say POLICE STATE? Now we suspect inanimate objects of doing wrong. Yes, Potter, the sky certainly is falling. This is exactly what Ron Paul warns us about!

Maybe is was a former Occupier/ now Kansas united or whatever their name is. Nahhhhhh that couldn't be it. Everyone knows that all the divisiveness, threats, criminal activity comes from the right wing. Those on the left don't engage in any of that kind of behavior.

is that the vehicle was determined to be suspicious because it had been in teh same spot for a long time with no activity around it. The vehicle may have been parked in a location that it was not supposed to be and the authorities were already on high alert because of the phone caller.

A guy I work with left a light ballast on the sidewalk at one of our locations, and somebody called the bomb squad, the manager got there and walked right up to it and picked it up, needless to say the cops freaked out...

Y'all would be screaming bloody murder if something *did* happen that these folks were working to prevent. "Why didn't the police do their job?" Can't you hear yourselves now? I can.

Anyway, I doubt if it cost anything extra, they were probably all already on duty. It's not like it was the middle of the night or something. I'm not sure what they meant by parked without authorization. The visitor parking in that lot does have a time limit, so maybe that called someone's attention to it. Whatever, how would all you experts have them respond?

Whoever that idiot was who called from a motel phone to threaten the governor--got to be some kind of crazy, not to mention stupid. Blame that doofus if you want to blame someone for something.

You should go look at that visitor lot on a day when they clear it. It isn't a bunch of nice cars. It is generally people who are going into the Docking building for titles or tax issues. It looks no different than a Dillon's parking lot. There are some nice cars, some beaters and your fair collection of 5 year old camrys, minivans, pickups etc.

Most of those who commented see no problem with grade school children being encouraged to use their creativity at school to draw "hate & kill" art.

So, if this turns out to be a Democrat, then we have one heck of a rare bird here. He would not have been instigated to do it by a Democrat talking about "targets" and sending emails that indicate the sender wants Obama dead.

The point is, nobody wants Governor Sam Brownback harmed in any way. Conservatives don't because they're on his side. Liberals don't because Liberals don't think that way.

And then after this event we had the 3 Little Pigs on the other side of the street running in circles screaming "Weeeeeeee-Wee-Wee-Weeeeeeeee!"
.
Okay on a serious note, job well done to the emergcy crews. We just never mow what people are doing now days, goodjob!!

to all who played a part in this. Thank you to whoever called in the vehicle as being "suspicious", thank you to the TPD, FBI, and fire department for putting their lives on the line for all who could have been injured if one of the devices had exploded. Next time a suspicious vehicle is called in, please come to this message board and recruit some of these people to go check it out....

I wouldn't suspect Lucinda "forgot her meds" this morning, she just happens to be very educated over our nations political parties, and their constant shenanigan's. When you go home tonight, I challenge you to flip the tube on and observe MSNBC for about an hour. You'll catch on in no time!

I actually read or watch news from about two dozen sites and some are conservative sites. I want ALL the news. I even go to BBC and other foreign news sites.

If we are not brave enough to see what the other side is saying, we are woefully ignorant when we debate.

And it will lead us to think, sometimes, that someone else is ignorant... when it is us.

For instance, if you listen to Limbaugh and Fox, you miss a lot of news that they, being a political site, will not let you hear. You think MSNBC is the same? Well then that's why we should all watch them all.

BUT here's something to think about: I have a friend who was a journalist for Reuters and BBC for many years before retirement. He went around the world reporting for many countries.

One thing he has told me often is that the news is what the boss says it is.

He said if you want to know which way the news is slanted, find out who owns the news site.

But, he says, if you don't KNOW that all news sites are slanted to some degree or other, then you're a prime target for slanted news and the ignorance that comes with that.